Counterpart

Chapter Eight

"This idea is...speculative, but aibal is quite literally the counterpart of labia. Whatever you do when you withdraw aibal, try doing the exact opposite." It was the best advice Magnus could give. The boy more than proved himself capable of drawing out aibal, which means he must be able to call upon labia as well-he'd simply be corrupted if labia was the only power he could use. Rin squeezed his eyes shut, head tilted to the ground as his breathing deepened.

Before too long, small strands of light started to materialize around his body. Magnus held his breath as more streaks started to appear. In a sudden burst of light, lines exploded out of Rin from every angle, warping their way to form a silhouette. It's massive body was curled around him, it's head scanning the surroundings. "Rin."

He opened his eyes, jumping back when he noticed the beast laying right beside him. Magnus laughed. "It won't hurt you. Hell, it practically is you." Rin hesitantly reached out to stroke it's neck.

Stripes ran across his body and down across a long tail. "What is it?"

"A beautiful animal, commonly called a tiger, I believe. It's native to the lands far north from here. To be honest, I wasn't expecting such an animal from you."

"It's moving on it's own. I thought we could control our spirits."

"You certainly can. Try walking, and will it to follow you."

Rin stood, still careful to make no sudden movements around the animal as he walked back to the path. It followed close behind, tiny sparks of light trailing from the lines as he moved.

"Very good." Magnus stood as well, withdrawing his own spirit. "It will take some practice, but you'll be able to call upon your own spirit in a moment's notice before too long. Let's try having it do some more specific movements."

For the next few minutes, Rin focused to will his spirit to do whatever Magnus asked. It was clear the boy was improving astonishingly well for his first time with his spirit. There wasn't a single request he failed at. "Well done, Rin! I never expected you'd be training your spirit so soon. How do you feel?"

His spirit walked back to him. "...I feel fine."

"Not drained at all?" Rin paused a moment before shaking his head. "Damn, the forest really does it for you, then." Magnus took a long look at his dragon before glancing back up at his apprentice. "I wasn't going to try this at first, but just so you get the feel of it:" He willed his spirit closer to himself. "This is hard to trigger, but try to put yourself in the shoes of your spirit."

Rin just gave him a confused glance before beckoning his tiger closer. Magnus nodded. "Good. Now picture yourself and your spirit as the same being. It is a more...raw depiction of your soul, after all." He closed his eyes again, taking deeper breaths. Magnus drew his sword. "Now try to hit me."

Rin paused a moment as he took an uncertain look at the blade pointed towards him. "It's nothing too dangerous. Just try to hit my sword to the side. Don't picture yourself hitting the blade, but attacking it." Rin nodded.

He stared it down first, acting as though his gaze alone would weaken it. Then he swung.

Magnus twitched his blade back just before Rin's fist made contact. He let out a sigh as the soldier sheathed his weapon. Good. He didn't hold back, despite nearly splitting his hand open on steel. The trick is often looked down upon, but it was easy to see his spirit's commitment as a result. "That was wonderful. It wasn't incredibly clear, but I could see sparks of light from your fist as you swung. Train yourself just a bit more, and you'll be able to knock that sword out of my hands next time."